Tag: Bill Mitchell

Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 102nd Birthday, Ed Cole

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.17.11
“Kick the hell out of the status quo!” – Ed Cole

Ed Cole was one of what I call, “The Four Fathers of the Corvette.” The first Father of the Corvette was Harley Earl, the designer and creator of the Corvette. Earl was the “Idea Guy.” Ed Cole was the “Go-to” guy. Ed was already the chief of engineering of Chevrolet in ‘53 and was working on what would become the Small-Block Chevy engine. He was also the man that hired Zora Arkus-Duntov. The third Father of the Corvette was Zora Arkus-Duntov. Were it not for his at times, unbridled passion and insistence that Corvettes were successful at the race track, the car wouldn’t have survived the ‘60s. And the fourth Father of the Corvette was Bill Mitchell. His Sting Ray and Mako Shark II designs forever defined the Corvette “look.”

While Cole was one of the top engineers of his day, he did not start out wanting to be in the car business. When he first started attending Grand Rapids Community College as a lad, he wanted to become a lawyer! But a part-time job in an auto parts supply store hooked him into cars. He enrolled in General Motors Institute and got his engineering degree and a job at GM. Cole and Harry Barr co-headed a team to design and develop the revolutionary 1949 Cadillac V8 engine. It was the Cadillac engine project that set Cole up to be the lead man on the Chevrolet small-block engine project. Just stop and reflect on what an enormous contribution to Chevrolets and racing the all-time classic Small-Block Chevy engine is.

I called Ed Cole the “go-to” guy because of his relationship with Duntov. Zora was quite an anomaly inside of General Motors. The prevailing attitude towards Duntov and Cole was likely, “You hired him, he’s yours!” It turned out that Cole was Duntov’s corporate angel and he always had Ed’s ear.

The book, “Zora Arkus-Duntov – The Legend Behind Corvette” by Jerry Burton is filled with wonderful stories about Cole and Duntov. One amusing story happened in early 1956 just after Cole and Duntov took a modified ‘56 Chevy Belair to Pike’s Peek and broke several records. After the event, while the guys were celebrating over drinks, Zora told Ed, “We should show the world that the Corvette is no longer an underdog. Let’s show how fast the car will really go.” Cole asked, “How fast is that?” To which Duntov just pulled a number out of the air and said, “Oh… maybe… 150 miles per hour.” Cole was interested, but reminded Zora that his main responsibility was the development of the fuel-injected engine. Zora took Cole’s interest as a go-ahead and started working on body modifications that would eventually lead to the speed record run on the sands of Daytona Beach with John Fitch, Betty Skelton, and himself driving modified ‘56 Corvettes. Duntov was a loose cannon, and he was Ed Cole’s loose cannon.

After Cole was made general manager of Chevrolet in ‘56, he embarked on an over-the-top project called the “Q-Chevrolets.” Cole was fascinated with the idea of using a transaxle on all Chevrolet cars (Corvette included) by 1960, with a marketing angle of Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 102nd Birthday, Ed Cole” →

Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 9.2.11
2011 Corvettes at Carlisle Week continues with coverage of 1968 to 1982 C3 Shark Corvettes!

Bill Mitchell’s Mako Shark II Corvette show car is arguably THE most important Corvette concept car ever! This car literally changed everything the Corvette had ever been in terms of styling. The design was so fresh, new, original, dynamic, and dripping with sex, it just HAD TO BE the next Corvette. Oh, how I wish I could have been in the GM styling review yard in March 1965 when Mitchell and his team rolled the nonfunctioning Make Shark II out for review to GM’s upper management. Too bad it wasn’t filmed. Management was so blown away they wanted it as the next production Corvette in ‘67!

After some name swapping, the ‘61 Shark show car was renamed Mako Shark I and the new design was named Mako Shark II. new die-cast badges were quickly made, and the new Mako Shark II was shipped off to the 9th International Automobile Show in New York City for its public debut. Believe it or not, the non-running, full-size show model cost GM nearly $3 Million! The crowd also got to see Chevrolet’s all-new 386 big-block engine under the tilt-forward nose of the Mako Shark. Next stop was the New York World’s Fair to the GM pavilion. What a heady time for Corvette lovers.

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Meanwhile, back at Chevrolet, the hard work had already begun. It was a case of exuberance vs reality. Management wanted the new Shark as the ‘67 Corvette, after all, it was just a new body and interior, so how hard could that be, right? it turned out to be more challenging than the suits realized and soon the release date was pushed back to 1968. Even with an extra year, it was still a rushed design, as it was soon discovered Continue reading “Vette Shows: The Sights of C3 Corvettes at the 2011 30th Corvettes at Carlisle Show” →

Vette Videos: 2009 Press Conference Debut of the Corvette Stingray Concept Car

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.14.11
GM’s top Car Guy, Ed Welburn, introduces the Tom Peters-designed Corvette Stingray Concept car to the world at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show!

Every debutante has her day, that special day when she’s the bell of the ball. Corvette styling chief and lead designer of the C6 Corvette and the Corvette Stingray Concept car, Tom Peters was a proud papa on February 11,2009 when GM’s Ed Welburn debuted the Corvette Stingray Concept car at the Chicago Auto Show. Before we get into the rest of the event, let me get this out of the way in the beginning. In Spring ‘11 I had the opportunity to talk at length with Tom Peters for my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 170 2-page color special edition covering the latest and arguably the swoopiest Corvette concept car to ever wear the Corvette moniker. Tom was emphatic, “This is NOT the C7 Corvette.”

I already knew that before we spoke and perhaps it was my clarification before we talked that I was not trying to fish for details about the C7 design we all know Tom and his team have been working very hard upon. Our conversation was strictly focused on the actual Corvette Stingray Concept car. While there are tons of photos with copious amounts of regurgitated generic speculation about what the latest concept Vette represents, there were actually very few details about the actual car. You can read the compete article as it appeared in the August 2011 issue of VETTE Magazine, HERE.

But for this post, lets get back to the debut video. Corvettes have never been far from Hollywood. Millions of Americans weekly enjoyed the adventures of Todd Styles (Martin Milner) and Buzz Murdock (George Maharis) in the early ‘60s TV show, “Route 66.” Corvettes have had bit parts in everything from the Elvis Presley movie, “Clambake,” the film, “Corvette Summer,” the 80s TV show “Stingray,” and now the latest in the Transformers franchise, as the car/transforming robot machine, “Sideswipe” in the Michael Bay film, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” Unlike the Presley film, “Clambake” which used a red version of the ‘59 Stingray Racer, Continue reading “Vette Videos: 2009 Press Conference Debut of the Corvette Stingray Concept Car” →

Vette Videos: 1973 4-Rotor, Mid-Engine AeroVette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.13.11
Take a trip in the CorvetteReport Time Machine back to 1973 for a look-see at what could have been the first mid-engine production Corvette!

 

 

Chief of GM Design, Bill Mitchell had one order for designer Henry Haga, "Make it sleek!"

With all the chitter-chatter in the C7 Corvette rumor mill about a possible mid-engine Corvette, we thought it would be fun to take a trip back to 1973 for a look at what many thought would be the replacement for the C3 Mako Shark-styled Corvette. Corvette chief of engineering, Zora Arkus-Duntov had been pitching the mid-engine layout since the 1960 CERV I car. Not only was the AeroVette a mid-engine layout, it was to be powered by a 420-horsepower, 4-rotor Wankel rotor-motor engine. GM had licensing rights to develop the radical rotary engine that seemed to have a lot of potential.

The car's bi-fold gull wing doors made it fairly easy to step into the car.

In ‘73 there were two, rotary engine-powered Corvette prototypes. The XP-892 used a 2-rotor engine and had a body designed by Pininfarina. While it was a nice-looking car, it really didn’t shout, “CORVETTE!” The 4-rotor car was built on the chassis platform of a previous 1970 experimental Corvette that was simply known as the XP-882. The 4-rotor car definitely screamed, “CORVETTE!” Continue reading “Vette Videos: 1973 4-Rotor, Mid-Engine AeroVette” →

Vette Polls: Was There a 6th 1963 Grand Sport Corvette? Cast Your Vote!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.5.11
Corvette Odd-Ball: A Juicy Story, Indeed, But Some Documentation Would Sure Help!

Special thanks to Dave Friedman for the basic photo of the above art. if you love Grand Sport Corvettes, you should get a copy of "Corvette Grand Sport" by Lowell C. Paddock, with photos by Dave Friedman.

Read the below post and let us know what you think in our informal poll. Do you think there was a 6th 1963 grand Sport Corvette?

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The Corvette hobby has grown so wide and deep you could spend all day, day-after-day, and probably not be able to keep up with everything. So I didn’t beat myself up for not discovering this sooner. While poking about for some background on another project, I stumbled upon a post talking about a story from Autoweek writer, William Jeanes that addressed the notion that there was a SIXTH Grand Sport Corvette. If you’ve been into the Corvette hobby for a while, you’re familiar with the GS Corvette story: Five lightweight Grand Sport Corvette race cars were secretly built by Zora Arkus-Duntov as a counter punch against the Shelby Cobras. The cars showed potential, but GM’s president, Frederick Donner, order that Chevrolet MUST comply with the official GM policy that “we DO NOT race cars.”

Duntov and Chevrolet’s general manager, Simon “Bunkie” Knudsen, were ordered to stop what they were doing. The cars were not ordered to be destroyed, so Duntov loaned the cars out and eventually, they were sold. From there, the GS Corvettes were raced, hammered on, became outdated, sold, resold, and at one point in the early ‘70s were nearly lost. Eventually, all five cars were found and have been lovingly restored. Today, they are very valuable pieces of Corvette history.

While the prospect of a 6th GS is an intriguing story, it’s got “modern urban legend” smell all over it. Unfortunately, it’s all based on anecdotal stories. Here are the key points:

1. Texas oil man John Mecom claims that he bought 6 GS Corvettes.

2. Road & Track artist and Mecom pal, Bill Neale claims that his friend, John Mecom, had a photo in his trophy room showing 6 GS Corvettes in his shop.

3. Retired GM employee, Jim Champlin worked at the GM Milford proving Grounds claims that he was personally charged with destroying the 6th GS in late ‘64 or early ‘65. He says that after the car was returned from the Bahamas, he was told to “make it disappear.” So, he put two tires in the car, doused it with gasoline and BURNED IT. Champlin also says that his supervisor, Bob Cameron witnessed the destruction. Continue reading “Vette Polls: Was There a 6th 1963 Grand Sport Corvette? Cast Your Vote!” →

Illustrated Corvette Series No. 172 – 1967 L89 427 Corvette Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.28.2011
Was This The Best C2 Sting Ray?

In March of ‘65 GM’s styling VP, Bill Mitchell blew everyone away with his Mako Shark II concept car. The new shark just had to be the next Corvette. Management was so excited, they tried to get the rebodied Sting Ray completed as a ‘67 model – a totally unrealistic goal. When it was obvious that the new design wouldn’t make it in time to be a ‘67 model, stylists were tasked to give the existing Sting Ray one last pass.

The stylists came back with subtle changes that made the ‘67 Corvette totally unique. Most obvious was the new five-louver front fender vents and the 15×6-inch steel rally wheels with their beauty rings and caps, the backup light was relocated just above the license plates, and a closer look revealed that the fender badges were gone. Since ‘65, big-block Vettes could easily be spotted by the domed hood. Big-block ‘67 Corvettes received the new “Stinger” hood scoop, which is arguably the most popular performance car hood scoop of all time. While not functional, except for the L88 racing version, it just flat-out looks great! The interior had slightly revised seat patterns and door panels, the passenger-side dash grab bar was gone and a center-mounted parking brake added. The suspension and drive train was unchanged, however, the Kelsey-Hayes knock-off cast-aluminum wheels were redesigned for a regular 5-lug pattern. Knock-offs and spinners were deemed unsafe by the government.

The big news was under the hood. Two small-blocks were available, the base 300-HP engine and the $105, 350-HP L79 327. But it was the selection of big-blocks that made jaws drop. With five 427s to choose from, the question was, “how much horsepower would you like and how much money do you have?” Continue reading “Illustrated Corvette Series No. 172 – 1967 L89 427 Corvette Corvette” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1962 – Production of the “Lightweight” aka Grand Sport Begins

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 7.27.11
This could have been the beginning of a grand adventure for Corvette racing!


This is how we tend to think of the ’63 Grand Sport Corvette, with its aggressive fender flares, scoops, vents, and fat racing wheels and tires. Initial production was supposed to be 100, but Duntov envisioned at least 1,000 Grand Sports!

For those of us who are fans of the early days of the Corvette, the name, “Zora Arkus-Duntov” casts a very long shadow. GM’s chief of styling, Bill Mitchell once referred to Zora as, “Just a lowly engineer on a low-volume production Chevy.” While that may well have been correct, thanks to friends in very high places inside Chevrolet, Duntov got away with some astonishing things. And the Grand Sport wasn’t the first or last bodacious stunt he pulled.


There wasn’t much under the thin fiberglass body. The car had magnesium Hallibrand knock-off wheels,  an aluminum bell housing, transmission case, and rear differential, plus a 36-gallon fuel tank. Note how the side pipes came off the stock cast iron exhaust manifolds. FIA rules mandated that the cars carry a spare tire. (GM photo from the book “Corvette Grand Sport” by Lowell C. Paddock)

For this adventure, Duntov’s GM “angel” was Simon “Bunkie” Knudsen. While Bunkie personally never raced cars, he did work on the GM assembly line as a college student in the ‘40s and was passionate about race cars. While general manager at Pontiac from 1956 to 1961, Knudsen was responsible for Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1962 – Production of the “Lightweight” aka Grand Sport Begins” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1978 – Chevrolet Studio III Chief, Jerry Palmer Sketches Out the Next Generation C4 Corvette

Published on by Scott3 Comments

Dateline: 7.17.11
It all begins with a sketch!


Image from the Dave McLellan Archives and the book, “Corvette From the Inside” by Dave McLellan

When the all-new 1984 Corvette first came out, the press and the public went wild. Perhaps it was because of the C3 platform’s 15-year production run – actually, a 20 year run, if you count the basic frame, drive train, and suspension. So, I guess you could say that the Corvette fans were a little hungry for a new Vette. And the rave reviews weren’t  just baseless praise. Corvette fans backed up their praise with CASH, as 51,547 ‘84 Corvettes were sold the first year of C4 production, up from 25,407 from 1982. But if you follow the used Corvette market, early C4 Corvettes are at the bottom of the barrel! That’s bad news if you spent a lot on one when it was new. But if you’re looking for a starter Corvette, it’s an inexpensive way to get into the hobby. But, when the ’84 Vette arrived, it was red hot!

The design process has to start somewhere and that “somewhere” is a humble sketch. Car guys are always doodling and I’m certain that designer Jerry Palmer probably had a few preliminary loose sketches of what he thought the next Corvette should look like. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1978 – Chevrolet Studio III Chief, Jerry Palmer Sketches Out the Next Generation C4 Corvette” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1977 GM’s Chief of Styling, Bill Mitchell Retires

Published on by Scott

“I design Corvettes around here!” – Bill Mitchell

Mitchell was a master at proportions. By itself, the Mako Shark looked BIG. But next to a production ‘68 Corvette, it looks like a 7/8s-size car.

It was probably a hot July day in Detroit when William L. “Bill” Mitchell quietly retired from General Motors after 42 years of service! Volumes could be written about this man. Mitchell looms large in the Corvette world because he was one of four key players that were responsible for setting the tone and design of the Corvette. Harley Earl came up with the concept of a mass-produced American sports car built in Detroit. Ed Cole was the inside engineer man that made it happen. Zora Arkus-Duntov put hair on the Corvette’s chest and made it the car a bare-knuckles brawler. And Bill Mitchell designed and guided the ‘63 – ‘67 Sting Ray and the Mako Shark-II-styled C3 Corvette. The Corvette would not have its signature style were it not for Bill Mitchell.

Bill was known as a “snappy dresser” that loved expensive italian silk suits. “Red” was also his favorite color.

Bill Mitchell, son of a Buick car dealer, started his professional career as an illustrator that liked to draw cars. While an illustrator at Collier Advertising, someone suggested that he show his car renderings to then VP of GM’s Art and Color Department, Harley Earl. Harley liked what he saw and hired Mitchell on December 15, 1935. Mitchell became Earl’s protégé and was eventually Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: July 1977 GM’s Chief of Styling, Bill Mitchell Retires” →

Was 1962 the “Best” of the C1 Corvettes?

Published on by Scott

The straight-axle Fuelie was tough enough to win it’s class at Le Mans in ‘61. Was the last of the C1 the “best”? Let’s have a look-see!

Click the images to see much larger images of these classic Corvette ads.

No matter how well received a performance car is, the day will come when the decision is made, “Let’s build a new version!” For the first generation Corvette, that day arrived in late 1959. Two years before, Ed Cole was driving his Q-Chevrolet project that would have put a transaxle in every Chevrolet car, including the Corvette, by 1960. Chief of GM styling, Bill Mitchell attended the Turin Motor Show in ‘57 and especially liked the humps over the wheels and the unique tapered roof of the Pininfarina and Boano cars. So he instructed his designers to come up with something based on those ideas. Penned mostly by Bob Veryzer and Pete Brock, the new shape is unmistakably the genesis of the Sting Ray.

While the Q-project was quickly shelved, Mitchell couldn’t let go of the Q-Corvette shape. Early in ‘59, Bill made a deal to buy the mule chassis from the Corvette SS racing project for $1. Designer Larry Shinoda was charged with designing a roadster version of the Q-Corvette for the Corvette SS chassis. On his own, Mitchell successfully raced his Sting Ray for two reasons. First, he wanted to go racing, and second, to test the public’s response to the new design. It didn’t take long before it was obvious Continue reading “Was 1962 the “Best” of the C1 Corvettes?” →

1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette – Minus the Split-Window?

Published on by Scott

Corvette “Urban Legend” or FACT? What do you think?

Called by some, “The Original American Idol.” The rear split-window was one of chief of GM styling, Bill Mitchell’s pet design elements. And NOT to be messed with by a lowly engineer!

I have been writing about Corvettes and illustrating them since the mid-’70s. During that time and before then, I have read dozens of books and hundreds of articles about Corvettes. Somewhere, way, way back (I really do not recall when or in what book or article) I remember the following story about the ‘63 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Sting Ray… Continue reading “1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette – Minus the Split-Window?” →

C7 Transformers-Centennial Corvette Roadster: Hot? Cool? Not?

Published on by Scott

So, what do you think? Would this work for you as the C7 Corvette Roadster?

One of the cool things about running a blog such as CorvetteReport.com is that you can track topics – what’s hot – what’s not. Speculation over the pending C7 Corvette is smokin hot! Perhaps it’s just the ho-hum economy and Corvette fans are looking for something to look forward to. After all, is the C6 Corvette deficient? We won’t get into the interior issue, suffice to say that there still might be time for a C6 interior upgrade, just to quiet the nit-pickers.

I have some other thoughts on C7 speculation that I’ll save for the next post, but for now, let’s take a gander at the latest variation on the Transformers/Centennial concept Corvette – the Roadster version, as well as an interesting application of the concept car’s styling queues to a C6 coupe. Continue reading “C7 Transformers-Centennial Corvette Roadster: Hot? Cool? Not?” →